The present disclosure relates to a battery cell and to a battery or a battery cell module which comprises a number of the battery cells according to the disclosure. The present disclosure also relates to a method for producing a battery cell according to the disclosure and to a motor vehicle.
The present disclosure particularly concerns lithium-ion battery cells and lithium-ion batteries or corresponding battery cell modules.
Such lithium-ion cells usually comprise an electrode which allows the reversible insertion of ions in a process known as intercalation and their extraction again in a process known as deintercalation. The intercalation takes place during the charging process of the battery cell and the deintercalation takes place during the discharging of the battery cell for supplying power to electrical units.
DE 10 2008 015 965 A1 discloses a galvanic element with a foil seal which is designed as an energy store for chip cards. The galvanic element is a primary battery. This galvanic element merely comprises two electrode layers that are separated by a separator. The respective electrode layers contact copper plates, which partially form the housing of the galvanic element. On account of the low capacitance and the lack of rechargability, the galvanic element presented in this document is not suitable for use in the automotive sector. Furthermore, on account of the purely planar structure, the construction presented cannot be used for the stacked electrodes (known as the stack principle or pouch cells) or rolled electrodes (jelly roll) with lateral contacting that are customary in automobile applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,994 B2 discloses a battery in which a substantially conventional battery cell has a casing that is formed by an upper shell and a lower shell.
Electrical contacting of the battery cell can take place through clearances in this casing. The casing is made of a non-conducting material and accordingly acts as an electrical insulator and also as a guard against mechanically induced damage.
Conventional lithium-ion batteries often have design features that have noticeable adverse effect in terms of the effort involved in production and the associated production costs. With respect to the individual battery cell, there is for example the necessary leading through the battery housing of an electrical connection between the electrodes in the battery cell housing and the respective pole binders or terminals. This often makes it necessary to insulate the one-part battery housing from at least one pole of such an electrode-terminal connection. The fixed arrangement of the pole binders or terminals on specific sides of the battery cells means that they only have a low degree of flexibility with regard to the interconnection of a number of battery cells to form a battery cell module. In the case of the battery cells, in which the housing is at the potential of one pole, an additional insulation of the cell housing, for example by varnishing or encapsulation in plastic, has to be provided for the purposes of insulation for a series connection.